by Jim Kouri
As the IRS scandal metastasizes, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., appearing
on Your World with Neil Cavuto on the Fox News Channel on Wednesday
afternoon told the show's audience that he and other Republicans have
serious reservations about the Internal Revenue Service managing
Obamacare.
Sen. Coburn told Cavuto that hearings in both houses of the U.S.
Congress must probe the reliability of the IRS to manage a program
that's one-sixth of the U.S. economy and that will make decisions on
something as important as citizens' health care.
"President Obama and his minions may believe the Benghazi hearings are
a 'sideshow,' but the real sideshow in the IRS scandal is the prospect
of having thousands of agents controlling America's health care
system. How can they be trusted? Should they be trusted?" asked
attorney and political consultant Mike Baker.
According to the director of the IRS' department overseeing tax-exempt
organizations, Lois Lerner, employees at an IRS office in Ohio began a
probe of organizations using the terms "patriot" or "Tea Party." IRS
agents conducted politically-motivated reviews during the 2012
elections, including the presidential race, to see if conservative
groups applying for 501(c) 3 status were in violation of tax-exempt
regulations
As time passed, the IRS activities became a scandal on the level of
Benghazi and Fast and Furious, two episodes that continue to cast a
shadow over the Obama White House.
President Barack Obama's health care law, although thousands of pages,
was hastily created and frantically pushed through the House and
Senate by Democratic majorities before many even had a chance to read
its contents, according to Baker.
"That law is now being implemented—and has raised serious concerns
about big government intrusion into American's private lives," said
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform.
The Committee examined how the IRS is implementing the Affordable
Health Care Act, a/k/a Obamacare, and the consequences for Americans.
The Oversight Committee addressed concerns about the "big brother
process" it will create, the legality of rules it will enforce and the
sacrosanct privacy of personal information once held only by the IRS
but now share with state exchanges.
The lawmakers also reviewed the biggest spending item within Obamacare
-- its complicated subsidy scheme and the assessment of the challenges
the IRS faces with implementation.
"Under Obamacare, taxpayers will have to provide within 30 days,
notification to a government agency about key information in their
lives: did they get a raise or take another job; did a family member
move into the household; were they married or divorced; what is the
nature of their employer-paid health care coverage. The IRS is ill
equipped to deliver customer satisfaction in addressing disputes or
questions with the public, according to key metrics and government
surveys. The IRS is also ill equipped to handle the massive staffing
and technology ramp-ups required to handle this data," Chairman Issa
told his committee.
According to Issa, under Obamacare, taxpayers will have to provide
within 30 days, notification to a government agency about key
information in their lives: did they get a raise or take another job;
did a family member move into the household; were they married or
divorced; what is the nature of their employer-paid health care
coverage.
"The IRS is ill equipped to deliver customer satisfaction in
addressing disputes or questions with the public, according to key
metrics and government surveys. The IRS is also ill equipped to handle
the massive staffing and technology ramp-ups required to handle this
data," said Issa.
The IRS executives are witnessing the largest manpower expansion -- at
least since withholding taxes were first introduced by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II -- to enforce the new tax
mandates and penalties included in the health care law, according to
Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas.
According to an analysis by the Joint Economic Committee and the House
Ways & Means Committee staff, up to 6,500 new IRS personnel will be
necessary to collect, examine and audit new tax information mandated
on families and small businesses as a result of the Affordable Care
Act.
"When most people think of health care reform they think of more
doctor's exams, not more IRS exams," said Congressman Brady, a top
House Republican on the Joint Economic Committee. "Isn't the federal
government already intruding enough into our lives? We need thousands
of new doctors and nurses in America, not thousands of more IRS
agents."
Jim Kouri, CPP, is founder and CEO of Kouri Associates, a homeland
security, public safety and political consulting firm. He's formerly
Fifth Vice-President, now a Board Member of the National Association
of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, a columnist
for Examiner.com, a contributor to KGAB radio news, and news director
for NewswithViews.com.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington
Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in
the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at St.
Peter's University and director of security for several major
organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and
trained police and security officers throughout the country.
In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio
affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com) and editor of Conservative Base Magazine
(www.conservativebase.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for
Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He holds a bachelor of science in Criminal Justice from Southwest
University and SCI Technical School in New York City and completed
training at the NYC Police Academy, FBI Continuing Education Program,
and the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) of the American
Society for Industrial Security.
Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and
radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah,
McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
